English translation of "se le retorcía el corazón" - "She pulled at his {Erik's} heart strings"

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72 months ago

Barbara Cochran (a guest user) asked this question:

Language pair:	Spanish > English
Subject:	General
Level of diffculty:	Easy / medium
Word or term in question:	se le retorcía el corazón
Context:	— ¡Madre, no te mueras por favor, no me dejes sola con padre! — su rostro se contorsionó a punto de sollozar, aunque seguía soñando. A Erik se le retorcía el corazón y no pudo resistirlo por más tiempo. — Yvette, despierta —la habló suavemente, pero ella siguió sollozando en silencio como si lo hubiera perdido todo en la vida — es un sueño, Yvette.

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Complete list of answers and comments

72 months ago

Charles Ferguson wrote:

his heart was all in a knot

My comment:

Erik's heart is the real central focus of interest rather than the person or persons causing his distress.

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

72 months ago

wrote:

As long as "knot" implies unbearable pain, and not just anxiety. The author obviously distorted the standard expression "retorcerse de dolor": "***writhe in pain***, writhe in agony" (https://www.wordreference.com/es/translation.asp?tranword=writhe+in+pain) because "retorcerse" alone does not mean anything here [see https://www.wordreference.com/es/en/translation.asp?spen=retorcerse : retorcerse (***= contorsionarse***) (body: twist) writhe; (body: bend) double up, double over]. Do you have example sentences including a heart being all in a knot? Because I can't find any. To the contrary, in https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/be+tied+(up)+in+knots : "be tied (up) in knots To be ****confused, anxious, worried, and/or upset*** (about something).". And I don't think that including a link with the previous sentence in the translation is betraying the meaning of the source sentence.

72 months ago

Charles Schofield wrote:

This was heartwrenching for Erik

My comment:

retorcer = wring or twist. The passage refers to an event that is emotionally painful, the closest natural translation to refer to the heart in this instance is "heartwrenching"

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

72 months ago

wrote:

Charles, Your answer seems perfect to me.

72 months ago

wrote:

No, I'm afraid that this is not the "perfect" solution,because of the way Erik behaves towards Yvette immediately after and the fact that he's not all that emotionally involved with the woman at this point. Thanks for your input, anyway, Charles.

72 months ago

Ffion Marianne Moyle wrote:

She pulled at his {Erik's} heart strings

Comments by other colleagues on this answer:

72 months ago

Charles Schofield wrote:

To pull at one's heartstrings means to do something that makes them feel sympathetic towards you. It's generally used in a positive context. In this case Yvette is not making Erik feel warmly toward her, rather he is pained to see he suffering. Something along the lines of heartwrenching fits the setting better.

72 months ago

Charles Schofield wrote:

Yes, she's just starting to have an effect on his emotions; he feels sorry about the wounded condition she's in. Thanks.

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